Lights lyrics by Ellie Goulding, 10 meanings. Lights explained, official 2025 song lyrics | LyricsMode.com

Ellie Goulding – Lights lyrics

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Ellie Goulding – Lights lyrics
I had a way then
Losing it all on my own
I had a heart then
But the queen has been overthrown
And I'm not sleeping now
The dark is too hard to beat
And I'm not keeping up
The strength I need to push me

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine them when I'm alone
And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone
Cuz they're calling, calling, calling me home
Calling, calling, calling home
You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine them when I'm alone

Noises, I play within my head
Touch my own skin
And hope that I'm still breathing
And I think back to when
My brother and my sister slept
In an unlocked place
The only time I feel safe

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine them when I'm alone
And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone
Cuz they're calling, calling, calling me home
Calling, calling, calling home
You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine them when I'm alone

Lights, lights (x14)

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine them when I'm alone
And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone
Cuz they're calling, calling, calling me home
Calling, calling, calling home
You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine them when I'm alone

Home, home
(Lights, lights, lights)...
Explain Request
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I had a way then Losing it all on my own I had a heart then But the queen has been overthrown And I'm not sleeping now The dark is too hard to beat And I'm not keeping up The strength I need to push me You show the lights that stop me turn to stone You shine them when I'm alone And so I tell myself that I'll be strong And dreaming when they're gone Cuz they're calling, calling, calling me home Calling, calling, calling home You show the lights that stop me turn to stone You shine them when I'm alone Noises, I play within my head Touch my own skin And hope that I'm still breathing And I think back to when My brother and my sister slept In an unlocked place The only time I feel safe You show the lights that stop me turn to stone You shine them when I'm alone And so I tell myself that I'll be strong And dreaming when they're gone Cuz they're calling, calling, calling me home Calling, calling, calling home You show the lights that stop me turn to stone You shine them when I'm alone Lights, lights (x14) You show the lights that stop me turn to stone You shine them when I'm alone And so I tell myself that I'll be strong And dreaming when they're gone Cuz they're calling, calling, calling me home Calling, calling, calling home You show the lights that stop me turn to stone You shine them when I'm alone Home, home (Lights, lights, lights)... Explain Request ×



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Songwriters: Ash Howes, Elena Goulding, Richard Stannard
Lights lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
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Corrected by KristjA

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Lights meanings Post my meaning

  • U
    + 12
    Unregistered 2021-12-20 00:47:54
    She sold her soul. The lights on stage make her feel safe from the evil that will eventually come for her. She sold her soul for fame, and her her end of the bargain is performing and spreading her "worldly" messages nonstop. It's not worth it. Hell will be for eternity.
    GOD BLESS
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 12
    Unregistered 2016-05-30 16:14:37
    She's scared of the dark. Pretty simple really, when the light goes out she wakes up wondering if she's still breathing. The lights stop her from turning into stone, in other words frozen in fear from the dark. Shes not sleeping cause the dark is too hard to beat, she will be strong an keep dreaming even when they're gone? You're looking too deep into a meaning that is clearly and obviously stated. Plus the part about her brother and sister being the only time he feels safe cause she could probably sleep with the lights off if they were there, not feeling like she would be locked in the dark forever never to return home where the lights are calling her back. The lyrics aren't that cryptic.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 7
    Unregistered 2011-12-16 08:33:19
    Its about someone struggling with depression for sure. I feel like a close friend of mine has said and expressed all these feelings when he had depression. They're so caught up in their head like this ssong expresses. They did a brilliant job nailing every though that goes through a depressed persons head and every feeling, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
    "i had a heart but the queen has been overthrown" I cared but the strong part of me that was in control has been defeated.
    "i'm not sleeping now, the dark is too hard to beat" insomnia (common with depression).
    "you shine the light that stops me, turns to stone" you give me advice/positive that's stops me from hurting myself, but it turns to stone/pauses my destructive thoughts and behavior.
    "you shine it when i'm alone" you help me when I feel alone (the feeling of depression).
    "they're calling me home" either means calling me back to the old happy me or calling to heaven as in she feels that's her answer. But now that I've had an experience with my depressed friend I felt like I kept calling him "home" like back to reality and back to his old self.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 6
    Unregistered 2012-05-24 03:33:59
    Heres what I think of when I here this song. She is abused by someone who kidnapped her or anyone and she is scared because she is left in the dark and when the abuser turns on the lights, she is frozen in fear and hopes shes still alive. She thinks back when the world was "safe" and her "brother and sister slept in an unlocked place" without worries and when she thinks of that, its the only time she feels safe. This is what I picture.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 5
    Unregistered 2012-02-09 20:35:04
    I think it sounds like instead of her being abducted by aliens, she is the alien and the spotlight reminds her of all the lights back home. It also sounds like her brother and her sister are in area 51 or something. She also thinks that she isn't real because nobody thinks she is, and that she is a ghost in another universe, when really she has just been left in another planet she doesn't know and becomes a singing superstar. (i really don't know about the last one though.)
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 4
    Unregistered 2021-07-03 20:18:00
    I think she’s afraid of the dark and being alone. There are demons that call her back “home” because she sold her soul. So the only time the demons don’t bother her is when she’s around people. So at night when she sleeps with her sister and her brother she feels safe because they don’t torment her. When she’s alone they don’t leave her alone.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 4
    Unregistered 2019-07-12 11:40:08
    This song is about Ellie being scared of the dark and overcoming it when she is with someone but still has the fear shes very strong but everyone gets scared right [i only know because I watched the meaning] this song is actually a banger it very lyrical and has a meaning that a lot of people can relate to.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 4
    Unregistered 2012-01-28 01:04:08
    I do think it's about aliens. Like "the lights that stop me" could mean the ufos that stopped her and took her away, and morphed her body, which follows up to "touch my own skin" because maybe the aliens added another creature on to her (i don't know, I'm just making a suggestion!)
    And she dreams of the aliens go away and home is calling her, she remembers her brother and sister.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 3
    Unregistered 2020-11-23 14:54:11
    I agree, it’s about abuse. The turn to stone is the paralysis from when the lights come on signaling the abuser has arrived in the night. It’s also about PTSD and experiencing that paralysis when triggered by lights in the present. Thinking to the past before the abuse, when her siblings slept safely in unlocked places.
    The lights calling her home is recalling the abuse at home and bringing her back to that place. The queen overthrown might have been her mother who could have but didn’t protect her (either absent or overpowered by the abuser)
    Lots of clues, everything fits like “you shine them when I’m alone”, and how she has to be strong waiting for them to finish the abuse so she can return to dreaming.
    Add your reply
  • U
    - 1
    Unregistered 2016-04-22 23:38:43
    It's about the devil, Lucifer himself! Almost every song sung by these so-called pop, hip hop & mainstream artists are dedicated to the top of the pyramid which is contacted using transcendental meditation cause always remember that Jesus (God) is the cornerstone that was & is rejected by most on earth these days! Don't believe me, then listen to other artist's lyrics too, no aliens, just demons y'all! God Bless.
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    • U
      + 12
      Unregistered
      She sold her soul. The lights on stage make her feel safe from the evil that will eventually come... Read more →
    • U
      + 12
      Unregistered
      She's scared of the dark. Pretty simple really, when the light goes out she wakes up wondering if... Read more →
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    Ellie Goulding - Lights

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    [Intro][Verse][Pre-Chorus][Chorus][Hook][Bridge][Outro]